Safety
by halebbabes
Summary: A collection of one-shots based on late night bughead thoughts. Hurt, comfort, fluff, smut, anything, everything.


**_"Oh my lord, oh my lord, I need you by my side_**

**_There must be something in the water  
'Cause everyday it's getting colder  
And if only I could hold you  
You'd keep my head from going under__"_**

**_-Bruises, Lewis Capaldi_**

"Betty? What time is it?" Jughead groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"J-Jug... I-I..." He heard her sniffling on the other end of the phone.

His heart started to break, a million scenarios buzzed through his mind at his girls sadness. He looked at the clock which blinked 3:29 AM in bright green, yet he still got up, holding the phone to his ear as he got dressed.

"Baby, whats wrong? What happened?" he questioned, wanting to prepare himself for whatever situation she was in.

She just continued to sniffle, he could hear her silently trying to calm down, but it wasn't working.

"I'll be right there, just hang on, I'll be right there" he said softly.

He quickly hopped onto his motorcycle and drove off. The fifteen minute drive to Bettys house seemed to last five hours as he raced down the streets of Riverdale. As soon as he arrived, he threw off his helmet and leapt off his bike, not even bothering to stand it up as he left it laying down on the patch of grass in the Coopers front yard. The boy scaled up the trellis and knocked at Betty's window, immediatly being pulled inside by a pair of hands.

Before he could process, Betty was in his arms, sobbing and shaking. Jughead held onto her as tightly as he could without suffocating her.

"Y-you're here," the girl hiccuped out between tears.

"Of course I am princess," he ran a hand through her hair, "Where else would I be?"

"I h-had a dream... and y-you le-left and the ghoulies, t-they hurt you, and then w-when we wound you, y-you were..." she began to cry harder, her small hands balled his shirt up between her fists.

He realized what her dream had been. After the last rousting the Serpents had, Jughead had gotten pretty badly hurt. He had bruises, scrapes, and cuts everywhere, most gone now but a few were constant reminders of his pain. When Betty had first seen him, she tried not to let her pain show, she knew what came with being a Serpent, especially the King, but it had not sunk in until she saw him laying close to lifeless on the floor of the White Wrym. Jughead knew it had effected her, but he had no idea it was this bad.

He kissed the top of her head, "I'm okay...I'm right here," he softly repeated to her.

Betty came down from her hysteria, but still held on to the boy in front of her.

They two stayed connected for longer than either would like to admit, but neither could force themselves apart as they both needed the physical comfort they gave each other.

Eventually, Betty got the courage to look up at Jughead, her eyes red and puffy much like the rest of her face, "I'm sorry, I should't have called you, I-I just needed to know that you were okay.."

"Never apologize to me," He wiped the tear stains from her cheek with his thumb, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head.

She let out a long breath, finally regaining her ability to breathe. She had been having nightmares like this since the day she had been called over by Fangs to find Jughead on the floor of the White Wyrm, but they had never gotten that bad. Usually she would wake up and shake the thoughts out of her head, but tonight was different. Tonight, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that she couldn't shake. They hadn't seen each other in a few days, and all she needed was him. Sure, they had texted and called, but she never felt safer than she did in his arms. And that was all she needed in that moment.

"Juggie, will you stay? At least," She paused to look up at him, "At least until I fall asleep... Please?"

Her eyes pleaded with him, and he needed no convincing to say yes. He took her hand and lead her over to her bed, crawling in together. Instantly, his hands want around her small body, closing the space between them as he held her from behind.

Her mental and physical exhaustion overwhelmed her as she finally felt safe. Jughead would always be her safe place, no matter where they went, all she needed was him.

"I feel like I'm going crazy, Jug," She whispered, "I can't stop worrying. I want to, but I can't. I can't stop thinking something bad is going to happen to you..."

He could almost feel her pain, every part of him breaking as he felt her pain intensify with her thoughts, "You are crazy, thats what I love about you," He smiled a little, placing his head on her shoulder in front of him and the girl let out a small laugh.

"I'm a serpent baby, there's always going to be some risk in that," Jughead sighed, "But, I will always be here. Always."

"I just can't lose you," he heard her sniffle, her thoughts coming back again.

He gently tugged on her hip, telling her to face him, which she did. Once she turned, he put his index finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to his.

"You will never lose me. I can't promise you much, but I can promise you that."

His voice was stern, yet gentle, telling Betty everything she needed to hear. She nodded slightly and buried her head into his chest.

A few minutes passed, Jughead traced lazy shapes on the blonde's back as she held onto him. He could feel her heart start to settle and slow, telling him she was almost asleep.

"I love you Juggie," She whispered out.

He kissed her lips softly, "I love you too Betts."

He stayed awake, watching the girl dream in his arms.


End file.
